Talk:Superman (1979 video game)

Year or Release?

Does anyone know the exact year of release on this?

It's either 1978 or 1979 i've seen several cartridge and packaging scans that claim both years and websites that claim both years. I've even seen some claim 1980! Can anyone help out? Andrzejbanas 01:11, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

Moby Games claims it was published in 1978. I looked at a box scan at Atari Age, and the box says "copyright 1978." I'm guessing it came out in 1978, as stated by supposed authorities, but only just in time for Christmas, thus perhaps giving some people the impression it didn't come out until 1979 (since it was '79 before they realized it was out). KevinOKeeffe (talk) 06:32, 10 March 2009 (UTC)

Game was advertised as "coming soon" in a 1979 catalog. Source: The Atari Video Computer System Catalog, CO14356-Rev. C 77.182.63.139 (talk) 21:49, 27 March 2014 (UTC)

There's no way it was 1978. The game started based off the Adventure kernel proof of concept,[1] which itself was done by the end of July '78. According to Robinett, he went on vacation and came back and they wanted him to turn it into Superman. He delayed and talked his way out of it until John Dunn accepted. For a game to be out for the Christmas season, it would have needed to be at the production group and manufacturing by September. Which by all accounts seems to be around when Superman was first starting. Game development on average took about six months, and this being one of the first expansive games (along with Adventure) would probably have taken longer. So even with the minimum six months we're looking at the game done being coded around early spring '79. 1978 was just the copyright date in relation to Superman and the licensing. This game was being done in relation to the Superman movie that was first being released that December. --Marty Goldberg (talk) 21:33, 26 April 2015 (UTC)

I've expanded on the article with some information regarding this, despite some retrospective sources giving different answers, I feel that the contemporary sources I've found have justified that it was was released in late 1979. Andrzejbanas (talk) 22:45, 25 February 2023 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Superman2600.jpg

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BetacommandBot (talk) 08:43, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Additional Bug/Cheat

The BTECH Newsletter on Atari 2600 games from 1995 lists the following bug for the game:

Hold down the button down as you power on the game. Wait for two

seconds to pass and release. Superman won't change into Clark Kent, and the bridge won't explode. You'll find the bridge pieces in the subway, but don't worry about it. All you need to do is capture Lex Luthor and his men (and return to the Daily Planet). This bug may only work on text-label copies.

Can anyone verify this and add it if really does happen? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.105.186.124 (talk) 20:54, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

I believe i've seen people on YouTube upload footage of them doing that, but per WP:VGSCOPE, we don't generally add these kidn of glitches and bugs within articles. Andrzejbanas (talk) 22:47, 25 February 2023 (UTC)

Re-write

Just as I did with Haunted House, i've given this other Atari 2600 game a re-write. I'm still pretty green to writing video game articles, so give feel free comment/edit/copy-edit on anything that may have gotten lost in the update or should be added. Andrzejbanas (talk) 04:08, 22 February 2023 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Superman (1979 video game)/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Indrian (talk · contribs) 14:43, 6 April 2023 (UTC)

I’ll take this one. Comments to follow soon. Indrian (talk) 14:43, 6 April 2023 (UTC)

Overall, this article is in great shape. I've taken the liberty of making a few edits for grammar and article flow, but there are a small number of items I would like you to address as well.

Sure. I've gone through your edits and generally agree with most (it's so hard to call "first ever" this or that for example, as early video game history doesn't have a lot of hard and set dates for some material. At least, available to us. Andrzejbanas (talk) 20:33, 12 April 2023 (UTC))

Gameplay

• "To capture a crook or carry Lois Lane and bridge pieces" - Lois Lane is introduced here without context. Why does Superman carry Lois from time to time?

• He doesn't have to, but he can. It's just something you can do in the game. I've known players to put her inside the Daily Planet making her less likely to be at some unknown location on the game map, but it's not required to meet a goal/objective. I've moved the Lois Lane section earlier to explain what she does gameplay wise, I've removed the statement about moving Lois (as yes, you can, but no, you don't need to. It's not an essential thing for a reader to understand when reading about how to play the game). Andrzejbanas (talk) 20:33, 12 April 2023 (UTC)

• "The game was made prior to the introduction of side-scrolling" - I am not sure what the point of this statement is. Sure, scrolling was not being done yet, but it's not like Robinett or Dunn needed permission from someone or to wait for someone else to do it first if they wanted to make a side-scroller. As game designers, they clearly decided this was the best way to implement this kind of game on the VCS under the constraints of the time. This decision would not have hinged on whether side-scrolling had been "introduced."

  I've included this as I believe it's important to note that moving between screens like this in games was a relatively new thing gameplay wise. This is elaborated on later in the reviews section where one reviewer does note that moving between screens was unusual. Andrzejbanas (talk) 20:33, 12 April 2023 (UTC)

• "with the largest marker showing Luthor or one of his henchmen" - Why does this show only one? Is only one on the screen at a time? Does it show just the closest to you? A little more context is needed on Luthor and his henchmen for this to make sense.

• I've tried to expand on this a bit. It's a bit more like radar than a map, so I've clarified that as well. I'm not sure if more than one show on a map at once, but the manual doesn't go into that detail. From my own experience, it's only one, but I don't think anyone reading this is going to misinterpret this too wildly as you can only carry one thing at a time. Andrzejbanas (talk) 20:33, 12 April 2023 (UTC)

• "After entering through a subway door way, traveling upward off screen through different area differentiated by their colors, then exiting by moving off screen left, right or down." - Sentence fragment. These steps need to be rewritten.

  I've tried to make this more clear. Andrzejbanas (talk) 20:33, 12 April 2023 (UTC)

Development

• There is a lot of missing material here on Dunn taking over the project. Interviews with Robinett and Dunn indicate that Dunn volunteered to take on the game because he was a fan of Superman and saw an opportunity to improve VCS graphics programming.

• I assume you are referring to this interview, while I did read through this and found it's information interesting, I couldn't clarify the of the source as following WP:RS standards. Unless there is some other source you have. I don't think Dunn did that many games (I think MobyGames listing on him is mixing him up with another Dunn (or two possibly), so if you have sources for this, I'd be excited to apply them. Andrzejbanas (talk) 20:33, 12 April 2023 (UTC)

Ahhh I see that you are referring to this interview. I'm not sure if this site follows WP:RS either. :/ Andrzejbanas (talk) 14:13, 13 April 2023 (UTC)

• "According to the game's cover designer, DC Comics were not very hands on in the development of the game and did not give their input or opinions on the game's development." - That's fine, but why are we referencing the cover designer, who was not involved in the design of the game itself, for this fact when Dunn himself said the same thing in interviews?

• Again, if you can provide sources for this content, I'd love to add it, I've only applied material from content that follows WP:RS. Andrzejbanas (talk) 20:33, 12 April 2023 (UTC)

Release

• "The cover art for Superman was drawn by Judy Richter. According to Richter, DC gave them a playbook on exactly how Superman should look as the cover art was going to be crucial as that is what people would see on the store shelves." - Why is this in the release section? Also, the cover designer is not named until this section even though she is introduced into the narrative in the previous section.

I've re-arranged where she was mentioned. Maybe i'm used to writing film articles, but I feel like information on the game's marketing and the "how and why" about it, fits a release section. If you have a suggestion of elsewhere, I'm okay with moving that around. Andrzejbanas (talk) 20:33, 12 April 2023 (UTC)

And that's it. Despite the above concerns, the article is close to ready for promotion. Therefore, I will place this nomination  On hold while these concerns are addressed. Indrian (talk) 15:16, 12 April 2023 (UTC)

Thanks! All good responses. I've tried to address them. Andrzejbanas (talk) 20:33, 12 April 2023 (UTC)

Sorry it took so long for me to get back to this. I appreciate the changes you made and feel this article is ready for promotion. Well done! Indrian (talk) 18:32, 4 May 2023 (UTC)

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 10:44, 14 July 2023 (UTC)

(

• Comment or view
• Article history

)

• ... that the video game Superman was one of the first video games with multicolored sprites and was among the first console games with a pause feature? Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20141114201210/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=8594&tab=review , https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/02/you-wouldnt-be-able-to-pause-your-video-games-today-without-jerry-lawson/ , Montfort, Nick; Bogost, Ian (2009). Racing the Beam. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-01257-7. Page 105
  • ALT1: ... that Superman's appearance in the video game Superman made him the first published superhero to feature in a video game? Source: Kent, Steven L. (2021). The Ultimate History of Video Games. Vol. 2. Crown Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1984825438. Page 497
  • Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Among Us VR

Improved to Good Article status by Indrian (talk) and Andrzejbanas (talk). Nominated by Onegreatjoke (talk) at 16:56, 8 May 2023 (UTC). Post-promotion hook changes for this nom will be logged at Template talk:Did you know nominations/Superman (1979 video game); consider watching this nomination, if it is successful, until the hook appears on the Main Page.

• ALT1 might be redundant and I think the original hook may be just a bit too technical and complicated (and the pause feature might catch more attention anyway). How about these alternatives?

• ALT0a: ... that the 1979 video game Superman was among the first console games with a pause feature?
• ALT2: ... that Superman's appearance in a 1979 Atari 2600 game made him the first published superhero to feature in a video game?

I'm not really sure what "published superhero" means in the context of the hook, but I kept that wording since it's in the article. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 16:21, 28 May 2023 (UTC)

New enough, long enough. ALT0a short enough and sourced; Allgame is yellow on WP:RSP, and it is not in Ars Technica, but I'm happy to AGF Racing the Beam. Every paragraph has a reference. No neutrality problems found, no copyright problems found, no maintenance templates found. QPQ done. Care to explain why Earwig claims a 90.7% similarity with [2]?--Launchballer 20:48, 21 June 2023 (UTC)

can't conclusively ascertain who got there first... theleekycauldron (talk • contribs) (she/her) 18:40, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

• @Onegreatjoke: Still needs your input. Narutolovehinata5 (talk · contributions) 13:10, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

@Launchballer: I don't know. It could be a case of WP:MIRROR but i can't figure out if that's the case. Onegreatjoke (talk) 17:45, 13 July 2023 (UTC)

Internet Archive only goes back to last month, and I can see our version being developed. They nicked from us. Good to go.--Launchballer 18:24, 13 July 2023 (UTC)